Writer's Block Survival

It's any writer's worst nightmare and whoever says they've never had it is lying. It's writer's block; that wall of non-inspiration, the chasm of blank thoughts, and when you're trying to write a first draft of stories, novel, or any type of writing, every writer dreads hitting the block. But fear not my faithful reader, there is a way to defeat the dreaded writer's block.

Firstly, the best way to prevent it is to prepare. Have an idea of what you want to happen before you pick up a pencil (or pen or keyboard, whichever you prefer). This will make the writing process go much smoother and writer's block is less likely to occur as you already now what is going to happen.

If writer's block still occurs, take a moment to pause. Think about where you are in your writing and think "what if." Using the "what if" method gets your creative mind thinking about different story plots and opens up possibilities. You then have several answers for "what happens next."

If the "what if" method fails and you still are starved of inspiration, take a deep, deep, breath. Stop whatever you are doing. Turn off the music, the TV, or whatever else is going on, lean back and just relax for a minute in the silence. Clear your mind. If you really need to, walk away from it for a minute and let your mind focus on something else. That usually allows inspiration to flow more freely.

If writer's block still persists, watch a movie and try again in the morning.